Not Too Bad...

Two posts in a semester? Could be worse I guess. I need to get on Andy and Steven's case. Granted, the main reason I remembered to write something was being home sick from work and trying to delay doing any other chores.

As for me, Pilates has become less awkward and I've seen my flexibility improve greatly. I can downward dog like you wouldn't believe.  I've actually become  an acquaintance of the poor woman mentioned in the last post. We have friendly after class chats. Turns out she's hardcore into working out, so we might have to compare notes. And by compare notes I mean "have her motivate me to get off my ass more often"

This week also saw me signing up for a gym membership. While it's nice to have my campus gym open, it's usually busy when I have the time to get over there. This place is a new one that's open 24 hours and usually pretty quiet.  The place looks pretty snazzy so I'm very excited. Even better, Steven and his lady (another good friend of mine) go there too! So I'll have workout buddies! The gym's associated with the Spartan Race, so maybe there's sweet discounts to fuel my torturous marathon addiction.

Speaking of torturous races, another Tough Mudder has come and gone. I looked like this:

I take Tough Mudder to a whole new level.

It was more difficult than last year, partly because for a good 2 or 3 miles I was teamless. My first team was too cold to walk and I was not about to exhaust myself before the first half, so they went on without me. Then another team that wanted to recruit me before the race caught up with me and took me under their dirty wing. They're good people, those Dangleberries.

I'm not going to jinx myself by saying I'm excited about my workout class next semester and I'll definitely be losing weight, but I totally am. There's a Couch to 5k class! And as much as I hate running this will be perfect motivation for me. Theoretically, if I'm forced to run two days a week for class (and I imagine the homework will be to run the third day that's typical for those programs) I should lose something. You don't see many fat guys finishing marathons quickly...

So that's been me this semester, busy as heck but still working on my health. How've you been?

Annnnnd we're back.

Fair warning, I have no idea what to write about today. I just really feel the need to update. I also feel the need to explain myself with my lack of updates this semester. Life can really get in the way of things. An extremely close friend of mine died suddenly near the beginning of the semester, which knocked me out of pretty much everything for a few months. Then because of my inability to notice what was going on with my body, a kidney stone struck which required surgery. As a result, I had to work my butt off to make up the coursework I had missed. It made it really difficult to do much of anything outside of school.

As far as progress, I haven't "lost any weight". I know, I know. You're thinking about how I was supposed to be exercising so much that it was going to be easy to lose weight. While I haven't lost mass, I have slimmed down a few inches. For example, by stomach used to hang over my belt. Now it more... looms. Sounds sinister, right? It's smaller, but it easily serves as a reminder that I can gain weight if I fall off the wagon.

So how's this wagon going to keep on rolling? I present to you: The Plan. Three simple steps that will make my summer a game-changer.

• Eat less crap: I generally eat until I'm no longer hungry. But sometimes I'm really really hungry and devour a meal that is much too big for me. Eating more often will prevent me from getting so extremely hungry that my eyes are larger than my stomach. Eating smaller meals will also help shrink my stomach back to a reasonable size. If your stomach is smaller, you'll be full more quickly and eat less.
• This rule also includes me eating more "real food" instead of fast food or other heavily processed crud.  I'm going to try to avoid anything in a box or that is otherwise "unfresh".
• Run/walk: I really want to do the Tough Mudder again this year. I really want to do the Tough Mudder with a much better time this year. So I'm going to train the way I need to. I plan on walking or running six days a week. My running will be similar to the couch to 5k programs, but less controlled. I'm going to run curves, then walk the straight parts of the track near my house. Then work my way up to running a half track and walking a quarter. And so on.
• Lift a little: I plan on doing the running training 3 days a week (walking the other three). While on my "walk days" I plan on doing a little bit of weight lifting at home. Nothing too crazy, just trying to increase my strength and keep the blood flowing.

The Plan looks to be pretty effective in helping me obtain my goals, which will be covered in my next post.

Get a taste...

This is the official video from the Tough Mudder in Maysville, Kentucky that the Fatnicians went through on October the 20th of this year.  Enjoy!

Tougher Than Mud

Where I live, there aren't a lot of people that really know anything about what Tough Mudder is.  I showed up to the gym and my classes on Monday and I mostly just got odd looks at my new facial hair and my orange headband.  A couple of people recognized the band or the name written on it and asked me about it, but I couldn't tell whether they actually believed that I did what I said or that I was just crazy.

The ones who did believe that I actually went through the grueling 12.1 mile obstacle course asked me about how hard it was, and the only thing I could tell them was, "It was the hardest thing -physically- that I've ever done in my life."

I've hiked in areas all over the state of Kentucky, ran in a 5k, and put myself through circuits with a personal trainer until I thought I would throw up, but I have never participated in something so exhausting in my life.  

The course was 12.1 miles long.  For a marathon runner, that's no sweat, but what most people don't account for is the hills.  90% of the terrain we went through was either up or downhill.  The obstacles were the only reason you found flat terrain.  As for the obstacles themselves, I only completed 3 of them.  I completed the Kiss of Mud because it was the first obstacle, the Mud Mile was an unavoidable part of the course, and I was too tired to even think about skipping the Electroshock Therapy.  I attempted a few more of the obstacles, but I was unable to finish them.  There were many more that I skipped all-together.

What I loved about it:

• I loved accomplishing what people said I couldn't.
• I loved the people.  Big Mudder told us to help our fellow Mudder's.  I didn't think that people would take it to heart like they did.  As I struggled along the course, I had so many people pass me and ask if I was alright or if I needed help.  Of course, I told them I was fine, but it was awesome all the same.  And I've never had so much encouragement from strangers in my life.  I met people at Tough Mudder that were more supportive of me than some of my best friends and family.  I can't wait to see all of them again next year.
• I loved the challenge.  I may not have completed the obstacles, but I had a great time trying.

What I hated:

• At the event and on the actual course itself, I didn't really hate anything.  It was a great experience.
• I do, however, have a new-found hatred for hills.
• Before the event, I hated that there were so many people that not only said that I couldn't do it, but that I wouldn't.  I didn't like that people thought that I was crazy for even attempting something like this.  I guess that I can sympathize with some of their worries, like from my family, but I knew what I was getting into before I went.
• After the event, I hated that some people told me they didn't believe that I actually did it, and I didn't like that some of them still called me crazy.

What I learned:

• I learned that I've let myself go way too much since Amber died.  I thought (and I know now that I was lying to myself) that I had just gained a little weight back, but I used to be so much better.
• I learned that I'm capable of doing a lot more than what other people or even what I say I can.

Overall, I had one of the best experiences of my life.  I have a lot of training ahead of me and a lot of wrongs that need to be righted in my diet, because there was one last thing I learned at Tough Mudder:

I've got one year to get ready for the next one!

All Hail the Conquering Heroes!

People keep asking me what the Tough Mudder was like. Without trying to be a smartass, it was tough. It was one of the most physically exhausting things I have done in my life. I still can't say it was the toughest thing ever; there's been worse things in my life. And just like the stuff in my life, Tough Mudder was beat into submission as well. So here's a quick rundown of the things I learned, loved, and loathed.

I absolutely hated: Pretty much nothing about the Mudder. Except learning that some people didn't think I could do it and a few people who acted like it was no accomplishment. Guess what, my friends? It was. It's a very special individual who will sign up for a 12 mile obstacle course that involves ice-baths, fire-walking, and electric shocks. It's an even more special person who actually follows through on it.

I loved: The camaraderie. I haven't seen that many places where there was so much caring and concern for your fellow man. I can't count the number of times someone came up to me and smiled while asking if we needed assistance. Also, I loved Jasmine, the friendly quad-riding medic. I don't know where that angel-named-after-my-second-favorite-Disney-princess came from, but she was encouraging us every step of the way that last 6 miles. I'm not sure if she was made to follow us, but she wasn't forced to give us kind words and keep us in the game.

I got edumacated on...

1. I have got to get off my ass more. Run up hills, stretch, jumping jacks, anything. To be fair, most of the movement stuff never really made me lose my breath. But I could have been so much faster.
2. I still really need to work on my arm strength. Toward the end I didn't even try a couple obstacles because of the weakness in my arms. Granted, the cold was getting to them. But I likely wouldn't have been able to do them regardless of when they fit into the race.
3. I'm much more bad-ass than I let myself believe. 
4. Hypothermia. 

We finished last. But we finished last in something that most people wouldn't even try to finish. That's really saying something. It makes me wonder what else we might be missing if we don't try things outside our comfort zone.

Still Alive After Tough Mudder

Hey there everyone,

I know it's been a couple weeks since we posted anything here, and I'm sorry for that.  We've been busy as usual with school and preparations for Tough Mudder.

Harrison and I, along with Steven, our newest Fatnician, all survived the event.  We had a great time (mostly), and we have a lot to tell you about it.

For right now, I'm still very sore and tired.  Give us a few days and you'll see our stories!

Until then, stay happy and healthy.

-Andy

The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge

Hey Fatnicians!  I know it's been a while since I've said anything, and I'm sorry about that.  I've had some things come up in my everyday life that I had to deal with and they took some precedence over the blog.  Fortunately, Harrison has been doing a great job while I've been gone and now that I'm back, we'll be an unstoppable team!

My return to posting on the Fatnicians is going to start with something that could help all of us.  Harrison, Steven (who isn't a Fatnician yet, but he should be!) and I have a little over a month before it's time for us to run in the Tough Mudder in Maysville, Ky.  Hark and Steven have been working their butts off getting ready for the event, and I have been slacking.  It was completely convenient for me that Mark Sisson started the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge up today!

For those of you who remember the challenge from last year, it's basically a month of trying to live, eat, and act out a primal (paleo) lifestyle.  Mark usually makes the challenge last 30 days, but he worked with his team and decided to shorten it to 21 days.  He believes that time-frame is enough to break any bad habits and help keep up new ones (of course, it does coincide nicely with his 21-Day Primal Blueprint Total Body Transformation book that debuted a few months ago).

Sisson is really going all-out this year and giving away lots of prizes for PB'ers who participate in the challenge.  The first prize to be given away is a $200 gift card to PrimalBlueprint.com to one lucky person.  All you have to do to enter is to share their status and post your goal for the challenge!

This should be fun!  I'm going to be updating weekly again and while the challenge is going on, I'll be talking about that as well.  Won't you join me in the challenge?

If you're interested, click here to learn more about it.

Weigh-in

My friend, Steven (the Tough Mudder in training mentioned last post), brought me to the gym yesterday to show me some shoulder and chest workouts. With all the intravenous lines I've had as a kid, my upper body strength is severely lacking and it was getting very difficult. I like to think that my determination was proved yesterday and now one more person can see why I'm going to do Tough Mudder. I may not be the strongest, fastest, most athletic, or even the bravest. But I'm definitely the toughest, most headstrong, stubborn, and tenacious. Like Charlie B. Barkin, you can't keep a good dog down. Like the honey badger, I don't care and I take what I want.

Ahem. Yeah, got a little carried away there. Let me poorly attempt to segue. In this case, the taking was taking away my weight. And take it away I have! I'm down to 246.1 pounds! That's ten pounds! Go me!

To the Naysayers

My brother says I can't do it.

That I won't even be able to attempt the Tough Mudder. He says "That's the kind of stuff I would do. Not you."

My guess is some background is in order. My brother and I are like night and day. He's all about machines, motorcycles, rock climbing, stuff you normally see macho, tough guys doing. I've always been much more content reading a book, cooking, hiking, Renaissance Man kind of things. He was the wild kid, and I was the good one.

Things started changing. He laughed when I pierced my ears, because "I was trying to be cool like him". Then I got a tattoo and he was shocked. He should have been the first to get tattooed, after all he was the crazy one. Now my body has tons of tattoos and his is still bare. (And I'm planning on taking advantage of the "Get a Tough Mudder tattoo for cheap and into next year's competition for free" plan) 

So when I proudly told him I signed up for Tough Mudder, he laughed. "Do you even know what it is? They have that around here and there's no way you can do it!" My reply was, "Bull. You have no idea what I can do. I've always been a hell of a lot more stubborn than you, and this is happening."

"Alright, we'll see"

We'll see indeed. Maybe I won't be able to do some of the obstacles. I've never been good at pullups or pushups. But you know what I am good at? Being tough as hell. Being stubborn as hell. Being supportive of my friends when times are difficult. So not only will I do this, but so will Andy. We're going to be glorious.

You'll see.

Prepare for a long entry

I imagine introductions are in order. My name's Harrison, and many friends call me Hark.  I'm overweight. I've been overweight nearly all my life, and fixed it a little bit. I used to be all the way up to 350 on my 5'8" frame, but eventually became a nice muscley 225 with diet and exercise. But lately with finishing a Master's Degree and working a really crappy job, I've started gaining weight again. I'm back up past 250, and my blood pressure and blood work are coming back as that of a fat guy. This is terrifying. All of my grandparents except one have died because of heart problems. My dad has had about 5 heart attacks, and has a ton of other problems related to being overweight. And guess which of my parents I take after for my body type? Time to fix this. I'm turning this sludgy, broken-down, beat up, busted seat cushion jalopy into a svelte, sexy, well-tuned machine. How? Diet and exercise of course! For the record there's no real way to lose weight in a healthy manner that doesn't take craploads of work. Liposuction gets rid of weight, but you usually end up a big ol' chubster again. Those lapband and other stomach-screwing up surgeries make you lose weight, sure. But then you can barely eat anything for the rest of your life. It destroys your ideas of portion control in the exact opposite direction that most Americans (I can't speak for other countries) have had theirs wrecked. "But Hark! I hate working hard at stuff! And I love food! Screw you man!" you say. Well then, young padawan, screw you too, buddy. Don't be attacking me because you're a lazy-ass. But if you're serious about losing weight, you'll join me on this journey towards enlightenment. 1) Make it fun. I found a DJ mix-guy who made techno remixes specifically for training for a 5k run. The beats per minute speed up and slow down in the commonly suggested timings of most "couch to 5k" training programs. I tried it for the first time today and nearly died. Not that it's a bad thing. Being so tired afterwards makes me realize how out of shape I am and how effective that this program will be. Find something you like. I like swing dancing, so I'm also going to up my dancing to be more of a workout. Good thing most of the women there are used to guys with sweat pouring off of them. 2) Keep yourself motivated. I have no idea how you can do it, I'm pretty lazy. I'll work out for a week being all "Hell yeah! I'm gonna go and get skinny and all the ladies will like me and I'll be getting a better job because I'm so skinny!" Then the next week, I'm all "You know what I should do? Bake a cake and see how much I can eat in one sitting". It's not very effective... So how am I keeping myself motivated? Tough Mudder. Tough Mudder is insane. Go on look it up (www.toughmudder.com ) I can wait. 10-12 miles of pain, agony, fear of death, mud... Supposedly they once had tasers involved with some barbed wire. No idea, never been there. Andy has been wanting to put a team together, because it's all about willpower really. Sure you need to be able to do some physical stuff, but you're not getting anywhere without the testicular fortitude to outrun a cannon or whatever they make you do. And you're not going to have that motivation without someone next to you screaming quotes from 300 and Karate Kid. I even tried making excuses: "I'm unfit to try it. I have no idea where the place is. I can't afford the registration". Andy is prepared for it: "You got 4 months nearly to train. I'll drive you." And most importantly, "I'll help you pay" Now anyone who knows me, knows I can't pass up free stuff. Or even a discount. Training has begun to be the Toughest Mudder that has ever mudded toughly.

Check It Out! - Tough Mudder

I've talked about it a couple of times in my videos.  This is THE event.

Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest even on the planet.

Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces.  It tests every facet of personal strength and mental capacity.

I'll be running in a Tough Mudder even in Maysville, Ky on October 20th of this year.  Should be fun.